Things That Drive You Crazy

POV: Political Perspective

joankelsy — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:52:21 GMT

5/27/12: Power Down Pilgrim. Called Governor Patrick's office last night and left a message, as have many other state residents. After visiting pilgrimcoalition.org , I realized that even though the NRC is ignoring safety issues at the nuclear plant, the fight to shut down the plant is not over. The letter that Massachusetts citizens attempted to deliver is posted on this site under "To Whom It May Concern". There, some of the mistakes and irresponsible practices at this plant are noted. How much more is hidden, we, as residents in the area will never know.

See capedownwinders.org for more info, including a list of other sites on the subject. Population within the fifty-mile radius of the plant is 4,737,792. Boston is within 30 some-odd miles away. Cape residents have been given no plan, dubious answers as to any bridge that will be open to them, and only the image of sitting in stalled traffic for the rest of their short lifetimes.

With all the spent rods stored on the roof of the plant (over four times what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission itself recommends), release of radioactive material in the area will shut down a good portion of the state for over 400 years! Power Down Pilgrim Forever.

5/24/12: A personal problem prevented me from attending the demonstration last Sunday, May 20th, at the Pilgrim Nuclear facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Fourteen gutsy people attempted to deliver a letter to Entergy and were arrested.

5/12/12: Occupy Cape Cod planning a demo at the bridge off Cape Cod tomorrow. Mothers Day is apropos of concerns for children, in particular, should there be another nuclear accident. Children are particularly vulnerable. Signs will be carried near the entrance to the Sagamore bridge, presently under construction, to remind people of the difficulty to keep traffic moving off the Cape. Due to the Pilgrim plant's location, Cape residents would have to head toward the "hottest" area and then proceed where?

5/6/12: Power Down All Nuclear Reactors. You can't take back Fukushima, but at least Japan has learned its lesson. Why can't we? Occupy Cape Cod will be out there demonstrating on Route 6 today and on Mother's Day. There are plans for May 20th, as well. For the sake of the children, not the corporate giants, come join us. Why Route 6? If the unthinkable happens, officialdom has plans to shut down the bridges. Even if they were available, God help us.

05/04/12: "We have met the enemy and he is us," Walt Kelly. The following is my taker on the quote.

Little Feet in Socks.

The toddler was being carried by his mother as they left the restaurant. I noticed them when I sat in Panera’s in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

There I was, wishing they would open a Jewish deli on or near the Cape, where I now live. Can you imagine, a delicatessen complete with dill pickles soaked just right, real New York bagels and oh, that cheese cake. The socked feet? Cute. It took my mind off such serious things as why my sandwich was jazzed up with hot pepper when I asked for just plain grilled chicken. As I picked off the offending red smidgens, I saw that there was a little girl in the party. Party is correct. She looked like she was dressed for somebody or other’s birthday to-do. Her dress was a yellow ballerina number and not to be outdone by her little brother, she sported knee-high white stockings. She wore laced black shoes, good for skipping and attempted same as she left the restaurant at her mother’s side.

Those children. Doesn’t anybody care? Here I was, living closer to a nuclear plant than I ever wanted to be. After getting involved with activists on Cape Cod, I have learned more about Pilgrim, the facility in Plymouth, and attended a talk by Dr. Helen Caldicott in Barnstable last month. She showed pictures of horrible birth defects that have resulted from the Chernobyl diaster. I find it hard to get one photo out of my mind, a little boy, born with feet that look like flippers, hardly functional appendages that certainly torture his parents. I have since Googled “Chernobyl birth defects” and there are endless horrors to be seen. What are we thinking of? It is mind-screwing to think that officials of this and other governments have allowed more of the same dangerous nuclear entities to exist when they don’t even know what to do with the waste.

The area that was affected in Europe will be uninhabitable by humans for hundreds of years, yet wolves come and go and have apparently normal looking pups. They act as a magnet for scientists to go into the area and collect samples, wearing simply what appear to be surgical gloves and masks. On a recent documentary on TV, it was said that if they breathed in only one wolf hair, they would become contaminated.

Sorry to say, these scientific folk are putting emphasis in the wrong place. Why can’t they, at the least, figure out what to do with the spent rods? Presently, there is four times the recommended radioactive waste on the rooftop of the Pilgrim Nuclear plant. It is my understanding that these are unshielded and unprotected. It would not take a tsunami. A tornado ripped through a portion of Massachusetts last year. Workers have done irresponsible things, like turning off a safety device to prevent pipes from rusting. Who trains these people?Blow, and this waste alone will spew more Cesium 137 into the atmosphere than by all the nuclear bombs ever exploded.

Find a better way than nuclear energy. Think of the children, if nothing else.

4/30/12:

5/1/12: May Day...Get corporate money out of politics. Go to www.freespeechforpeople.org You should be able to find your state Attorney General contact info. Ask them to support the Montana case by asking each A.G. to:

"Please file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in case #11-1179, American Tradition Partnership vs. Bullock, urging the Court to reverse its Citizens United decision." Call or write and then, please spread the word on this.

4/21/12: Fukushima update: Several meetings this month pulling together group of folks to protest the relicensing of the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant in Plymouth, Ma. So far, several dates coming up for standouts, etc. Will keep you posted.

After searching out effects of the Fukushima catastrophe, found reports that "cloud" from Japan has contaminated California and Canada. Kelp in California is radioactive. Our government has raised the bar (my words) on acceptable radiation as a result. Who decides how much we are exposed?

4/09/12: Dr. Helen Caldicott spoke at Barnstable Community College on 4/04/12. The auditorium was packed. I can not begin to repeat any of the data she pointed out. I have revised a portion of this post.

Enrichment of nuclear properties will contribute to, not prevent, global warming There is a heating process that, as time goes by and uranium becomes scarcer, will be very costly, not only to the environment but to our pocketbooks. Presently, a tremendous amount of taxpayer money is not the only expense.

Accidents that have already happened at Chernobyl, for instance, have created what I can only describe as weird looking body parts in children. Dr. Caldicott's emphasis on children's welfare comes from a passion to keep them in good health, having been a pediatrician. They are particularly susceptible to this demonic poisoning.

The madmen and women (my words) who have lied about and minimized the dangers of this technology are responsible for putting their own children and grandchildren at risk. I don't get it. No job, no amount of money is worth that. We are already exposed, without an accident. While studies go on about the high incidence of cancer in certain regions of the country, how would anyone know, including scientists, if we have been exposed to nuclear poisoning daily? You can't see it, feel, taste, or smell it. You must trust the people in charge to tell you the truth. I, for one, do not trust any official on this one. President Obama wants more plants built! He should read Dr. Caldicott's latest book, Nuclear Power Is Not The Answer.

Please go to one of her events. They are listed on the website nuclearfreeplanet.org

You can put "events" in their search, but you may have to work a little to find the April appearances scheduled throughout the U.S. Find the last entries. Your children and you are worth it.

4/02/12: Political Ads. Who pays for them? Wouldn't you like to know? Especially those misleading and/or vitriolic blurbs on TV. The Federal Communications Commission had proposed that lists of people or organizations that pay for these ads be posted online. The industry refused.

There is a way to accomplish transparency. Go to billmoyers.com to learn more or go directly to newamericafoundation.net, where you can help by submitting lists collected from local broadcasting stations.

It is worth it do the work and run down these lists ourselves. Take note of the word "proposed"used by the FCC. This is the way Washington throws things at us. It's like catching a fly ball in the outfield. You think you've got it, but you aint got it! Let us try to outfox them. Speaking of foxes, now there's a place to start. The Fox Newschannel.

Good Luck.

3/31/12: Yes, we did it. Folks from several different groups joined in. It was a cold, rainy day, but the dedicated persevered, showing a desire for peace in this world of ours. For information on the problems facing residents of Israel, see www.icahdusa.org and download the booklet, Is Israel an Apartheid State?

3/30/12: The March to Jerusalem will start at the Bike Trail opposite the Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans, Ma Saturday, March 31 at Noon. We will march in solidarity with Palestinians. March will end at the Meadow on the Cove off Rte. 28.

If you care to support this cause, send donations to WILPF, P.O. Box 668, Eastham, Ma 02651. See post below for a little more about WILPF.

3/28/12: Free Palestine. Working on signs for a demo soon in Orleans, Ma. Why did I join up for this hot (for too long) issue? The demo is sponsored by WILPF, Women's International League for Peace and Justice, founded in 1915 during the first World War.

My personal view is that things went bad centuries ago. The feud probably started because someone stole a cow or violated someone in another tribe. As far as I am concerned religion may have gotten in the way. Extremists and political hacks hide behind their interpretations of scripture. I have decided I am a Lennonite. Yes you read that correctly. John Lennon had it right in his beautiful song, "Imagine".

P.S. If you can't make a comment on this blog, seems there is a problem with this site*, write to me at words@jeannesavage.com.

*About a year ago, received hundreds of short comments. I thought I was a spinoff from textmessages anonymous or Twitter...stuff from all over the world, hundreds of nonsensical crap and ads. I pushed a button to eliminate all. Maybe that is why people tell me they can't write a comment. I give up trying to talk to techs. They tell me that software is third party. Oh well.

3/26/12: Whoa! Cut the verbiage. Have recently shown interest in activist groups, but the excess words are driving me crazy. I am not the only one. There is so much to keep up with, we are getting worn out trying to get paragraph after paragraph digested. This leaves little time for making posters, doing standouts and attending meetings. Please, please. Keep it brief.

I just wish there was not so much that has gone sour in this country. If I could concentrate on one area, I would read all that these dedicated people take the trouble to explain, yet when I am halfway through an email about GM food, I remember that there are other emails about health care or invasion of privacy, you name it. If anything has to do with Rush you-know-who, I trash it. If you ignore that man, maybe he will go away.

Anyhoo, thanks for all you do, but please keep it brief.

3/13/12: Lessons from Fukushima. On Democracy Now broadcast last night, Nuclear Engineer Arnie Gundersen said that it will cost Japan half a trillion dollars in recovery costs. That will wipe out the money saved by reducing their use of oil. He feels we should shut down the 40 year old Mark 1 design plants.

These plants cost about 20 billion dollars to build. They are subsidized with taxpayer dollars for building and insurance loans. Profits flow to private corporations. With all our budget problems, our government is going ahead with more new nuclear plants. If that is not nuts enough, the risks to humanity are astronomical.

Please go to democracynow.org and click on Past Shows, 2012, March, 12. There is a video that, for one thing, debunks a politician's claim that plants built miles high near the ocean are safe. All the guests on the Amy Goodman show say it much better than I.

Mr. Gundersen stated that waste is stored unshielded, unprotected, on rooftops of plants and that the Plymouth Nuclear facility stores more Cesium 137 than contained in every nuclear bomb ever exploded in the atmosphere.

3/12/12: Fukushima Memorial yesterday. I joined a march past the Pilgrim nuclear reactor. The plan was to march then to Plymouth Rock and beyond to meet at the Unitarian-Universalist Church for a vigil. I am afraid I did not make much more than a mile. The policeman in the car following us was kind enough to offer the back seat of the patrol car for some miles. Thank you, John. The police in Massachusetts have been great.

I had the good sense to retrieve my car at a checkpoint and caught up with part of the group at a parking lot next to the Pilgrim Sands Motel. (I was told that is the name.) There was a huge white tractor-trailer truck parked next to the facility, unattended. Onboard was a nuclear waste container. Now, wouldn't common sense tell you that some security was in order. Why was the truck and container left behind the gates of the nuclear facility a short distance down the road? If the drivers needed rest, someone could have transported them to the motel and back. Not cost effective?

The good people that participated in the demonstration included a scientist, a native American, several Hare Krishna observers, who chanted all the way and a youth group from the UU Church wearing Has Met coveralls. Some travelled alongside in cars boasting streamers.

There were roughly 75 people participating. Surprising, as there is no evacuation plan for Cape Cod residents, who are downwind of the plant and within a 50 mile radius, the danger zone. The bridges will be closed, if anything happens. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is aware that the waste there is beyond capacity. Recent reports put the overload of spent rods at four times that recommended, just sitting there.

The Entergy Organization wants to be relicensed. I understand that inspections are not on a surprise basis. The NRC has to notify the companies running these Hellholes ahead of time. Perhaps that big white truck was on the way to clear out some of the rods. Even so...

3/9/12: Madeleine Rees. She visited the Cape last Saturday. You know her as the character played by Vanessa Redgrave in "The Whistleblower". She spoke to a packed audience at the Cultural Center in Yarmouth. They were running out of chairs before she spoke to a largely female audience. She is the head of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. What impressed me was her emphasis on starting small for a global effect. For instance, she talked about the killing thing, how males are taught at an early age to be tough. How terrible. I thought of a young male friend of mine, who as a boy, had a father that insisted he get out with him and hunt, as if killing a deer would make him more male. How stupid.

There was one fellow in the audience that asked if there was a similar men's group working for peace. Her answer was not that she knew of, that only LGBT groups have that agenda. If this is true, it is a sad commentary on mankind, with the emphasis on man. This is not a criticism of the male gender. I know some wonderful caring men, but sometimes it takes a gangalang of people pulling together to get things done.

The WILPF is holding a meeting this coming Tuesday at the Community Center in Harwich. I will attend and join. That is what Ms. Rees's words did for me.

3/1/12: Secretary of State Galvin of the State of Massachusetts has done a smackdown. The Bank of America has been stupid enough to try to put more fees on their bankers. Thank you, Mr. Galvin. He warned that the State has a large account with them. Google that one!

2/28/12: The Supreme Court was wrong. Attended a hearing in the Boston Courthouse today. Quite a showing of ordinary citizens and a sizable showing of state reps. promoting Senate Bill 772, "Restoring Free Speech", a resolution to Reverse the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

It was a long day, the room was packed with people who were there for a plethora of issues, yet it was worth it. To many of us, the single most important issue currently was aired by speakers familiar with legal matters and those not so expert but worried about the future of the United States.

It is unfortunate that we had to leave after over six hours in the building. We were unable to visit legislators' offices, but I would have registered a particular thought about the mess this will cause. These corporate officers would not chip away at their profits to promote politicians with millions of dollars. You and I are actually paying for this already and I don't see it getting any better. All they have to do is raise prices. Some of the increased revenue will come from the junk made overseas. Have you noticed the quality going down as the price goes up on clothing, for instance? This winter, it has not been very cold and heating oil was used less. The oil companies made up for this lack of demand by boosting up price per gallon. Remember when their excuse for raising prices was that there was a shortage of the commodity?

Above are just a few examples of what big business gets away with. Wait.

2/25/12; Auction Action took place last Tuesday, 2/2/12, in Yarmouth, Cape Cod. Over two dozen voices were raised as a Voice Check action went on, preventing an auctioneer from selling a house occupied by tenants. I understand that the man who was suckered into a mortgage has since left the country. The bank took it over and now more profiteers want to get in on more $$$. Occupy Cape Cod members came from towns throughout the Cape to help keep a family from being thrown out.

During the proceedings, one wise guy in the auctioneer's party said that anyone who wanted work could get it at $15 dollars an hour. The majority of our demonstrators are seniors who have had jobs. The film is on youtube.com. I will try to get the exact title to put in their search and add it here.

Anyhoo, the sale attempt was unsuccessful. An item about the event was on the front page of the Cape Cod Times the following day.

2/4/12: Robert Reich. If you think I am name dropping...guilty. He is one of my heros and posted on my Facebook page. I use the name Jeanne Savage there. If you can't find his comments by scrolling down, try Googleing his name. Another good one to check out is Bill Moyers. He recently broadcast how Americans can protest the "Citizens United" ruling. It is happening all over the country.

1/30/12: Erin Brockovich. She is an inspiration. I have added her to my Facebook page as one of my most admired people. Environmental issues and so much more move her into action. Fantastic woman.

When I saw the movie ten years ago, I thought it was great and that was that. Hardly. She has been going strong ever since. Check out her web site http://www.brockovich.com

1/29/12: Yes, we did. The Octopus was marched around the Bank of America yesterday. See http://www.capecodtoday.com/news/headlines/2012/01/39/occupy-blue-meany-octopus-marches-in-hya

Adding to the show was Corpo Sharx, pushing his new book, a takeoff on the "Dummies"series. Other photos are on the Facebook page for Occupy Cape Cod (The one with the Wall Street street sign has this character's photos). Guess who is playing the part. Ah, the mystery.

1/23/12: The show must go on, and it will. On Saturday, 1/28/12, 10:00 to 11:00, Octopi Cape Cod will show their stuff in front of the Bank of America on Barnstable Road in Hyannis, Ma. Come join us. Click for more.

1/21/12: Snow job! That's what we're getting from Mother Nature, a snow job. We, the 99% on Cape Cod are disappointed. We will demonstrate and ham it up at a future date, and aim for a day when there will be some foot traffic at the event sites.

1/8/12: Octopi Cape Cod flyer is available. The octopus has been used by Occupy Wall Street and protesters in California. Guess which percentage of the American population it represents. Some call it the 1%, some say it is the 0.1%. Of course the second figure sounds more like the interest you and I get at the bank.

1/5/12: Drama. Put some in your life. Occupy groups on Cape Cod are planning theater for the education of the 99% of us. There will be shtick going on in towns from Falmouth to Provincetown on January 21, weather permitting. January 21st is the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling which defines corporations as people and money free speech. Their decision allows multimillion dollar organizations to throw unlimited cash at our representatives in government...with annonimity.

I will post more specifics about the doings on the 21st when I learn more.

Live on the Cape? There are groups in Falmouth, Hyannis, Orleans, Eastham, Provincetown, Martha's Vineyard. On Facebook, search Occupy Orleans, for instance. Last night I attended a meeting in Harwich.

Don't live on the Cape? Check things out on Facebook, Twitter. Occupy Together has worldwide info. If there is nothing going on near you, start something. Several in my group found information and contacts through the Move On site.

Weather in other parts of the country allows for more comfortable standouts. We will do the best we can to show we of the 99% are not going away.

OWS started something. Let's keep it going.

1/3/12: After the caucus...if you can stand it. Have you noticed the politicians' reference to God? I just wonder who they get on their knees and thank for the corporate money to get elected.

12/1/11: Occupy-ed Harwich yesterday. We stood near a busy corner and received very positive response except for one gentleman who shouted across the road, "Get the Democrats out." Generally when a detractor gives us a negative, we blow him/her a kiss or a thumbs-up. This time we yelled back across the street, "and the Republicans." "Get all the crooks out." I've seen this guy before, in Orleans. That time, he was so animated, he was hanging out the window and nearly lost control of his car.

Why is it that some people don't get it? All parties feed into the problem. I've heard a commentator describe it as "America is broken."

When did the US make a downturn? I remember, not that long ago, when we were not in catastrophic debt. Wasn't it Republicans that made government so big? Bush and Chaney sent dollars out the door. We're still suffering the hangover from a useless war and bonuses into the big pockets of the 0.1%, the chosen few that take the money and run. As a thank you for the tax break, these charmers send jobs outside the USA.

11/24/11: Christmas Eve Standout at our usual corner in Orleans. Biter cold, but worth it. Great reception. If this is any indication of the future, bring it on. Great amount of thumbs up, smiles, waves and folks in cars getting horny. Happy Holidays to all.

Plans are in the works not only for Saturday next week, but Friday in Harwich. Stay tuned for details.

Please go to Facebook.com and look up Jeanne Savage. Have picked up on some interesting communication from friends, recently a story regarding where the money is coming from to arm local police throughout the country with riot gear. Are they afraid of these peaceful demonstrators or are the 1% trying to shut out free speech in America?

11/18/11: Did a Standout at Orleans, Ma Saturday. Group has increased, contrary to what has been reported on TV about the movement. Folks throughout the country are feeling the crush from big business and showing it. If you stand on a good corner for as little as two hours on a Saturday, communication happens. Passersby give significant input. Occasionally, we get a volunteer who will stand with us. It pays to bring extra signs such as, "Tax The Rich", Corporations Are Not People", "Banksters Go To Jail". "Banks Got Bailed Out, We Got Sold Out". "We Are The 99%" What is so confusing about these messages?

One commentator I heard recently suggested there are too many small issues and that "they" should present a main issue. Hell. The man just doesn't get it. The goal is to get corruption out of government. Even the Supreme Court is tainted, calling corporations people and money free speech. By doing this, these defenders of the Constitution have sanctioned corruption and given U.S. representatives unlimited access to dirty bucks.

One of the best things about the movement is that there is no "leader"that dictates what we should think. Ours are not just gripes that can be smoothed over by pacifiers, concessions here and there written by the legal eagles of government.

Let's hear it for the 99%.

12/14/11: How about that Time Magazine! And Robert Reich, holding Obama's feet to the fire.

12/13/11: Met a man last night who was a lobbyist in Washington. He is one of the good guys, though, having worked to promote preservation and did not make himself a millionaire in the process. He and I were the featured writers at "A Book In The Hand" at the Jacob Sears Library in East Dennis, Massachusetts. His book, "The Lion And The Journalist" and mine, "Cooking For Dykes" are as diverse as you can get but we had a grand time talking up our creations and I am so pleased to have been in the spotlight with Chip Bishop.

Thanks to a rep from "Books By The Sea" you can see both our books on display at their Osterille, Massachusetts brick and mortar store.

Now, what has this to do with politics? The journalist in his book is a man called Joseph Bucklin Bishop and the lion is Theodore Roosevelt.

12/07/11: Hey: I thought it was forgotten, but...seems there is a movement to restore the popular vote.*

I read long ago that the Electoral College was instituted to avoid giving too much power to the people. Today's movement is tricky, as it is not an amendment to the Constitution, but a move to have states agree to send support to the winner of the national popular vote to the College. I'm certainly for getting power back to the general public. While they're at it, they should repeal the Glass-Stiegel Act, as is...our reps. in Washington have a bad habit of throwing ifs ands or buts into something pure.

*See article on the controversy of a National Popular Vote on Facebook. As Jeanne Savage, I took the MSN piece and shared it there. Comments on Facebook gratefully accepted. For some reason, comments on this blog are shut down. ??? I have to call GoDad and see if I can straighten this and other problems out. I'm getting too old for this techy stuff.

12/05/11: Lockdown: On Saturday, a peaceful group from Occupy Cape Cod-Hyannis attempted to give a letter to the manager of the local Bank of America, asking for a meeting to help local people scheduled to be evicted. They immediately shut down the bank, including the ATM and called the police. See the Cape Cod Times online 12/04/11 for their article on this. This was a peaceful attempt by the Occupy-ers. I believe the police delivered the letter for the group.

Sooner or later, our government will put some teeth into the laws already on the books and jail and/or fine those that have chiseled the public. This would include bank owners. Would it not be to their advantage to help rather than further victimize our citizens?

If you feel that our representatives in Washington have done little or nothing to rectify the mess we are in, check out "For Instance: Bitching Time" on this blog.

11/25/11: On Wednesday, several groups Occupy-ed overpasses on Route 6. The Cape Cod Times picked it up and, on the Business page, published a large photo of two of the protesters. The three exits targeted were #5, #10 and #12. Lots of traffic and plenty of support with waves, honks and thumbs up. After removing banners from one of the sites, we headed for the parking lot nearby. A black car pulled up and a really nice police officer was smiling when he told us that someone called the police. He was as amused as we were.

11/21/11: Politician's Commitment: The pledge should be rendered by standing at attention facing a dollar bill with the right hand over the pocket.

"I pledge allegiance to Grover Norquist of the United State of Murkiness,

and to the corporations for which he stands, one zealot, on guard

over the millions for elections next fall."

11/20/11: Who is Grover Norquist? Is he the man who really runs the country? Social Security and other "entitlement" programs will be victimized because legislators haven't the guts to go against this man and big guns money. So what if they signed never to raise taxes. Is it better to let the country go down the sewer? Tax the rich, period!

11/18/11: On a weather-wise nasty afternoon, about 50 Occupy-ers from a handful of towns showed up yesterday to form a 99 on the Hyannis, Ma. Green. See it on YouTube-put Occupy Cape Cod March in their search.

After the event, a dozen or so participants carried their signs up and down Main Street. Much traffic and good reception.

11/15/11: Support For Occupy Wall Street Nov. 17. We on Cape Cod hope others throughout the country will join us--in Anytown, USA. The following is a notice we are sending out in our area:

Cape-Wide Support Occupy Wall Street Nov. 17th

Calling all Cape Occupy-ers to

Hyannis Green 367 Main Street

at 3 P.M. this Thursday, Nov. 17

To support ousted Walls Street and Oakland occupiers.

We'll be making a human 99

Bring your 99% signs

11/14/11: Foot dragging in Washington--seems politicians and special committees are reluctant to tax the rich. They would rather chip away at programs that help the 99%.

I read that over 600,000 customers were lost to the Bank of America. They claim they don't care, stating that the accounts were small and did not make them any money. Hell, that would hurt any business. Even if the accounts averaged $30,000 to 40,000, try that on your calculator.

Did an occupy at the Orleans BOA Saturday. Passersby in autos very supportive. We loved the drivers of the big noisy trucks, including one UPS guy. They held their horns down from one end of our line of protesters right down to the end. Bravo!

11/5/11: Did an Occupy today at Orleans on Cape Cod. Elizabeth Warren came by to meet residents. Good reception for her. Our group greeted attendees and waved at passing cars. Lots of honks and thumbs-up.

11/4/11: Attended a meeting at Hyannis. Talk was about many things that threaten the middle class. Don't get me wrong if I talk about classes. Many families have sacrificed to provide an education for their children so they could move up into a better life. Unions have provided dignity for the American worker. What is wrong with this picture? To the 1%, perhaps everything. They have really put the screws on anyone climbing into the comfort of a good living. Perhaps they want to erase the middle class altogether.

One of the most effective instruments the powerful use is the Federal Reserve. This is not a government institution, by the way. It is run by the Central Banking System with 12 regional arms and operated much like a corporation. One book on this is "Figuring Out The Fed" by Margaret Thoren. Another is "The Great American Stickup" by Robert Scheer. That one is available at our "CLAMS" libraries here in Massachusetts.

Wikipedia is one internet source that can give you the basics. Trust me it is shocking how our lives are run by the "banking families."

I am not that knowledgeable about such things. By talking with some of the members of these groups, I am becoming more aware of what is going on. Hell, It makes me wonder if I have been sleep-walking through life.

If you don't want to carry a sign, sleep in a park or contribute in any other way to the Occupation, at least attend a meeting or two in a town near you. You may learn enough to at least become an informed voter. You do vote, don't you?

10/29/11: Made aware that Hershey does, in fact, produce some chocolates in Mexico. Called their rep. and she advised me they must state this on package. I will continue to buy the American-made products only.

10/27/11: Article circulating on internet by a woman who is shopping for items made in USA. Apparently some things are more reasonably priced than imports! This is one way we all can fight modern robber barons and support workers in our country.

10/24/11: "Occupy" is growing.

Focus? "What is the main issue for the protesters?" There is too much. Have a genetically modified lunch and think it over. You may later buy yourself a shirt made overseas or stop at the bank and see if they've added any more charges this month.

Consider yourself lucky if you can pay the mortgage on your house. By the way, did you ever wonder why there is such a thing as a mortgage loan? Why not one that is paid like a home equity, where interest is charged on the balance remaining as you pay down the principle? Looks like the high and mighty have been doing us for longer that we realized.

Focus? Yes, it is hard to focus. There is so much. Taxing of the rich, for one.

Something is needed to zero in on. Try corporate contributions to politicians and political parties. No matter what they call it, most of the 99% see it as legalized graft. And who provides this money? You do. Pay for anything out there and chances are you are dealing with a huge corporation.

Enjoy your lunch. Try not to focus on the pesticides, antibiotics, fructose and hydrogenated oil you may be ingesting. Don't worry. As you grow older, the pharmaceutical industry will fix the damage for you.*

*Perhaps you have a condition known as fructose malabsorption. You may not even be aware you have it until you wind up with irritable bowel syndrome, where a contributing factor is possibly the accumulation of fructose throughout the entire intestine. This is not the only residual screwing our digestive systems. Carrageenan is questionable. It is made from seaweed. Does the body eliminate all this stuff? They put it in whipped topping, ice cream, even pea soup. It is a thickener. Why would you need thickener in pea soup?

I do go on, don't I? The connection with my original post? Where is the FDA?

The government can hire more inspectors. And we don't want to hear any more from the far right about cutting down government. Tax the rich to help pay for it.

10/13/11:

New York City's mayor wants to evict the OWS protesters to clean a park. Aren't 99% of your countrymen and women more important than a minute piece of real estate, Mr. Mayor?

10/8/11: Whose money is it anyway? Multimillion dollar corporations get their profits from where? Taxes to run the country come from where? 99%of us. The galling part is that every time you buy a can of soup, a loaf of bread or medication, you may be paying a higher price so the super rich can add to the politicians' coffers to get elected.

That's our money. Our money stuffing the pockets of large corporations that invest in other countries, send the jobs to foreign soil and further do not give a damn what's in that medication I mentioned.*

Had enough? The powers think the Wall Street Movement is going away. I hope not.

*Why do we have an FDA when the pharmacist here can not tell you what may be caustic or irritating in that little pill from Asia?

10/7/11:

"USA has been thrown under the bus by the 1%" This is a partial comment I just posted on Facebook. MoveOn.org has a video to show the Wall Street march is not peopled merely by kids and hippies, as reported by mainstream media.

I had to say my piece, posted as Jeanne Savage.

I am a senior who does not consider herself an expert on the goings on in politics, I know how it affects me. I can see the effects on others. I can not understand why we put up with such crap.

God bless the marchers. They know the majority, most of the 99%of us, are aware that they have been taken. Granted, if you belong to the Tea Party or the religious right, you may be blind-sighted by the Conservative bla bla, yet can you deny that corporate money looks like a Godsend to our representatives? In order to be elected, it costs a bundle. Ask yourself what price they pay for big money.

Criticism has been that the protesters have no main issue. Hell, I see it. The 1%ers have been responsible for screwed up healthcare (you can't just throw a pill at it), unhealthy food engineering, mortgage nightmares and selling out the American worker.

Have I forgotten anything? Think about it. You can come up with something.

Allowing the corporations to donate unlimited monies flies in the face of the ordinary citizen and Democracy. The Supreme Court should have seen that.

To Whom It May Concern

joankelsy — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:11:48 GMT

The following is a copy of the letter that concerned citizens tried to deliver before the NRC proceeds with plans to relicense the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts:

Citizens' Demand for the Immediate Retirement of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

May 20, 2012

Mr. Robert Smith Vice President and Site Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill Road Plymouth MA 02360-5508

On behalf of the children, current residents, and future generations of New England, and with concern for all beings of the biosphere, we demand that Entergy Nuclear Corporation (ENC) immediately cease the splitting of atoms and the generation of nuclear waste and effluent from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The ongoing man-made disaster in Fukushima Dai-ichi, Japan is a wake-up call to action. The four reactors which exploded and released vast amounts of radionuclides are the same GE Mark 1 design as Pilgrim. For forty years, the nuclear industry and its regulators have known that this design is incapable of containing a serious accident. One of every eight Mark 1 reactors has exploded and released massive amounts of radionuclides. Pronouncements by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the risk of an accident is one in a million is testament only to their hubris. The continued operation of this relic, which was designed in the 60's to last 40 years, in the shadow of the Fukushima catastrophe is a reckless act, a threat contemptuous of all life.

Significant loss of water from Fukushima's Unit 4 waste pool would release ten times the amount of cesium that was scattered by Chernobyl and force the evacuation of 35 million people from Tokyo,175 miles away. Pilgrim's pool, which contains nearly 2.5 times as much waste fuel as Unit 4, is 195 miles from New York City. Experts for the Massachusetts Attorney General testified that Pilgrim's nuclear waste is vulnerable to a catastrophic fire from loss of water that could contaminate over 100 miles downwind and cause up to 24,000 latent cancers and $488 billion in damages.

The first duty of our elected and appointed officials is to protect public health and safety, not Entergy's profits. There is no safe dose of radiation, and exposure impacts the health of both current and future generations. The NRC's cynical standards for legally-permitted daily releases by ENC are based on the amount of cancers they will cause in the most-resistant (adult) population, willfully ignoring the far greater risk posed to children. Current monitoring is insufficient to determine the path of a radioactive plume, and thus populations may be evacuated to heavily contaminated areas, as they were last year in Japan. The NRC called for evacuation of American citizens within 50 miles of Fukushima; a 50-mile radius around Pilgrim includes all of Cape Cod, Boston, and Providence. The people of Cape Cod, who would have to travel towards an accident to escape it, have neither a radiological emergency plan nor a single study to show that Pilgrim's radioisotopes are not the cause of their greatly elevated breast cancer rates. We find the continued operation of PNPS an unacceptable threat to public health and safety.

May 20, 2012 Page 1 of 3

Pilgrim's joint federal–state Clean Water Act permit expired 16 years ago, and its state coastal zone management “federal consistency certification” is invalid. It sucks in over 350,000 gallons of water from Cape Cod Bay each minute, killing plankton, larvae, fish, fish eggs, and other marine life, including protected river herring. It's antiquated "once-through" cooling system regularly violates federal limits on chlorine discharges, and it operates without an approved marine monitoring plan. PNPS discharges polluted water, heated between 32 and 120 degrees above the ambient temperature. The full extent of the pollution from metals, biocides, corrosion inhibitors and radioactive material is unknown, as is the impact to endangered species such as the Roseate Tern and the Right Whale. We find the environmental impact to Cape Cod Bay unacceptable.

We demand that Entergy Nuclear Corporation withdraw it’s relicense application, immediately close the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, store the waste fuel in dry casks as soon as possible, and implement economic conversion plans to protect its employees. We also call for Cape Cod to be included in an emergency preparedness plan as we are citizens who will remain at risk long after final shutdown.

Signed,

David Agnew, Coordinator Cape Downwinders 18 Marthas Lane Harwich, MA 02645

Diane Turco Cape Codders for Peace

and Justice 157 Long Rd. Harwich, MA 02645

Sarah Thacher Cape Downwinders & CCPJ 1363 Rt 134 Box 1509, Drawer J E. Dennis, MA 02641

CC: Governor Deval Patrick Commonwealth of Massachusetts State House, Rm.280 Boston, MA 02133

John Auerbach, Commissioner Department of Public Health 250 Washington St. Boston, MA 02108

Kurt Schwartz, Director Massachusetts Emergency Management

Agency 400 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 -5399

Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738

Martha Coakley, Attorney General One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108

Senator John F. Kerry One Bowdoin Square, 10th Floor Boston, MA 02114

Senator Scott Brown 2400 JFK Federal Bldg 15 New Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02203

Congressman William Keating 297 North Street, Suite 312 Hyannis, MA 02601

Congressman Edward Markey 188 Concord Street Suite 102 Framingham, MA 01702

May 20, 2012

Page 2 of 3

Senate President Therese Murray State House Rm 332 Boston, MA 02133

Senator Dan Wolf State House, 5116 Boston, MA. 02133

Representative Sarah Peake State House, Room 195 Boston MA 02133

Representative Cleon Turner State House, Room 540 Boston, MA 02133

Representative Demetrius Atsalis State House, Room 26 Boston, MA 02133

Representative David Vieira State House, Room 167 Boston, MA 02133

Representative Timothy Madden State House, Room 167 Boston, MA 02133

Representative Randy Hunt State House, Room 136 Boston, MA 02133

Representative Matt Patrick Box 3252 Waquoit, 02536

Mark Stankiewicz, Town Manager Town of Plymouth 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth MA 02360

Richard R. MacDonald, Town Manager Town of Duxbury 878 Tremont Street Duxbury, MA 02332

Chief Kevin M. Nord Fire Chief & Director DEMA Town of Duxbury 688 Tremont Street Duxbury, MA 02331

George Baker, Mashpee Fire Chief Barnstable County REPC 20 Frank Hicks Drive Mashpee, 02649

George Heufelder, Director Barnstable County Department of Health

and Environment 3195 Main Street Barnstable, MA 02630

Richard Delaney, Chair Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory

Commission 99 Marconi Site Road Wellfleet, 02267

May 20, 2012

Page 3 of 3

Who Said That?

joankelsy — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:07:47 GMT

    1.   "Life is something that happens while you are busy making other plans."

   2.   "A hobby is something crazy you do to keep from going crazy."

    3.   "Who is Stevia?"

    4.   "This American system of ours, call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you
will, gives each and every one of us a great opportunity if we seize it with both hands
and make the most of it."

    5.    "Who is John Galt?"

    6.    "I Want My Old Body Back."

    7.    "Less is more."

    8.    "There is more to life than increasing its speed."

    9.    "We have met the enemy and he is us."

   10.   "Be careful what you wish for."

   11.   "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of
our friends."

   12.   "To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act."

   13.   "Nothing exceeds like excess."

   14.   "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

   15.   "You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind."

   16.   "Insist on yourself. Never imitate."

   17.   "The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with,
but whether it's the sane problem you had last year."

   18.    "I never vote for anyone; I always vote against."

   19.    "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

   20.    "A woman is like a tea bag...you never know how strong she is until she
gets in hot water."

   21.    "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

   22.    "Art is the signature of civilation."

   23.    "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."

   24.    "If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention
that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society."

   25.    "I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can
easily buy one for a few dollars."

   26.    "Smile. They'll wonder what you've been up to."

   27.    "Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose
your rest home."

   28.    "The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for lists of
"Ten Best".

   29.    "Santa Claus has the right idea...visit people only once a year."

   30.    "I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them."

   31.    "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

   32.    "One man with courage is a majority."

   33.    "My wife and I tried to breakfast together, but we had to stop or our marriage
would have been wrecked."

   34.    "Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese."

   35.    "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept."

   36.    "Nothing will work unless you do."

   37.    "If you had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe."

   38.    "He who overcomes others has force; he who overcomes himself is strong."

   39.    "Be the change you want to see in the world."

   40.    "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough
people to make it worth the effort."

   41.    "Nothing endures like change."

   42.    "It's wonderful what we can do if we're always doing."

   43.   "A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something."

   44.   "A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money."

   45.   "The beginning of an acquantance, whether with persons or things, is to get a definite
outline of our ignorance."

   46.   "There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by
the tail and face the situation."

   47.   "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."

   48   "Change your thoughts and you change your world."

   49.   "Everyone gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense"

   50.   "I did the manly thing; I cried like a baby."

   51.   "My life needs editing."

   52.   "Rich or poor, it's nice to have money."

   53.   "It isn't life that matters, it's the courage you bring to it."

   54.   "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

   55.   "Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress.
               But I repeat myself."

   56.   "Media, the plural of medoocrity."

   57.   "Don't count the days. Make the days count."

   58    "Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory."

   59.   "Grief is the price we pay for love."

   60.   "I am not young enough to know everything."

   61.   "If you follow all the rules, you miss all the fun."

62. "All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground...and miss."

63. "Don't look at me in that tone of voice."

64. "Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone."

Answers:

Who said that? If you are curious, go to www.johnlennon.com . Imagine.
I don't know. If you do, please comment. I remember that one from the 50s.
It's not who, it's what! See Pumpkin Season
Al Capone. I first saw this quote in the 70s "Bartlett's Unfamiliar Quotations", by
Almost everybody in "Atlas Shrugged", by Ayn Rand. I understand they're working on a movie.
Joankelsy. Printed on a Tee under photo blogger at 26--see end of this segment.
Robert Browning
Ghandi
Walt Kelly - Pogo, the comic strip character, made comment after seeing trash littering a forest.
Unknown - Something I tell my dog when she runs after anything.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Anatole France
I was reminded of this quote on CR4, an engineering website. Thanks, Jaguar.
Thomas A. Edison
Unknown
Ralph Waldo Emerson
John Foster Dulles
W. C. Fields
Oscar Wilde
Eleanor Roosevelt
Horace Mann
Beverly Sills
Thomas A. Edison
Jean Piaget
Fred Allen
Unknown.
Phyllis Diller
H. Allen Smith
Victor Borge
Pablo Picasso
Dr. Seuss
Thomas Jefferson
Winston Churchill
Billie Burke
Ansel Adams
Maya Angelou
Abraham Lincoln
Lao-tsu
Mahatma Gandhi
Herm Albright
Heraclitus
George Washington
Frank Capra
W. C. Fields
George Eliot
Henry David Thoureau
Norman Vincent Peale
Bruce Lee
Gertrude Stein
Larry Jones, trainer of Eight Belles after the horse was euthenized.
Mort Sahl
Red Skelton
Sir Hugh Walpole
Will Rogers
Mark Twain
Jimmy Breslin
Muhammad Ali
Albert Schweitzer
Queen Elizabeth II
Oscar Wilde
Katherine Hepburn
Douglas Adams
Dorothy Parker
Alan Watts

For Instance: Bitching Time

joankelsy — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:08:04 GMT

4/30/12: BPA dangers. I can't resist this one. This poison is one of my pet peeves.

Today, on health.msn.com/health-topics/cholesterol/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100288766 (don't you love the address?), an article points out that BPA in canned goods, those receipts you get for purchases and even washing plastics in the dishwasher can be [my words] dangerous to your health. I had pointed out my concern about canned foods in my book, "Cooking for Dykes" by Jeanne Savage, published last summer. The pollution is more widespread than I thought (glad I have gone to glass containers wherever possible).

Studies over the last ten years have led scientists to believe that the exposure could lead to heart arrhythmia, erratic beating that could cause sudden cardiac death. Thank you, Dr. Laura Vandenberg. There is much more that has been discovered regarding packaging of food etc. Hope the big corporations do not come up with studies that counteract these findings.

What are we doing to ourselves?

3/24/12: Weight stabilized. Yes, It's happening. The scale may show a gain or loss of up to 2 pounds (usually one) each morning. The modified exercises are done at least 5 or 6 times a week before breakfast. This only takes half an hour. Included in most AM meals are yogurt, ground nuts, chea seeds and soy milk (I like it). These items give me 15 grams of protein, needed for DNA repair. Even the mild routine I do creates some stress to DNA.

The rest of my diet is filled with fruits, vegetables and sprouted wheat bread (delicious). Proteins consist of an occasional small Angus steak or 90% fat-free burger, wild caught fish, chicken or pork chop. I eat out several times a week, so I am sure I get some engineered food, but mainly, I avoid genetically modified food, fructose, glucose and carageenan (?), hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils and "enriched" flour.

My point? I eat anything I want within the limits of real food. I have energy, realized the weight I feel comfortable with, and have lost inches of girth. What's not to like?

2/29/12: Mission accomplished. Without recent physical therapy and a consult with a dietician, I never could have done what I did yesterday. Four of us rode to the T in Braintree and exited in Boston. After climbing a stairway or two and one steep hilly block, we walked another half block to the courthouse, climbed two sets of stairs, then after another flight, walked to what seemed the back of one huge building. All this was in quick time in the morning. We had a briefing, ate in the cafeteria and after using an elevator, hustled to the hearing room and sat for over six hours of comments in a very crowded hearing room.

The trip home included two blocks, down the steep hilly street to the T, and a walk along the tracks that seemed three blocks long to the free parking lot of a large shopping center. My cohorts are at least twenty years younger. I slowed them down only slightly.

My breathing and stamina have improved with the exercises I do nearly daily. Diet has helped. By eliminating milk products and substituting soy, taking the advice of the nutritionist and including chicken broth and pineapple in my diet, breathing has improved considerably. Did the doctors tell me about this? If I hadn't tried to help myself and get other professional help, maybe I would feel I have to give up at my age. Nuts!

I refuse to give in to such negativity. If I had, I would have missed an unusual and enlightening experience. One thing I almost forgot. One must keep the braincells active.

2/16/12: I'll do it myself. Recently went to my primary physician. I have been getting good results with my physical therapy and do the modified exercises on rising every morning for over a month. I told him my breathing has been much better, but wanted not to take immune suppressing drugs. I had already eliminated a few things that bother asthmatics in my diet, hoping for further improvement. I asked if we could learn more about causes. I was really taken aback by his answer, "Who cares." He proceeded to go on about my age. Most people drop their jaws when they hear my real age. I felt it was useless to talk to this man.

One health care provider I visited is a dietician. She is right on the money. She is pleased with most of what I do in the kitchen and has given me some excellent tips. She suggested I get my vitamin D level checked. I am scheduled to see her again next week and will bring a list of questions I have come up with. Perhaps she can clue me in on a book that supplies me with an easy reference to the specifics I am looking for in food.

As an example, the what-is-it in parsley that helps prune weird capillaries that feed even weirder tumors? I believe this property is in celery as well.

A book that was recommended is What Color Is Your Diet? by David Heber and Susan Bowerman. It is a good guide to better living not through chemistry (my words).

1/3/12: March! Forgot one important routine one can do to stay in shape without much effort. Do an exaggerated march around the house. Pick up your legs, swing your arms, suck that gut in. It helps you stand up straight. Learned this one in a rehab after surgery. Probably the most important aspect of this is to get out of that chair at least once an hour. Couple this routine with other exercise and you will feel better, have more energy, and not play the blame game with yourself.

Peace.

1/2/12: Resolutions? Something that I have been motivated to do toward the end of last year is to exercise. In order to keep up with daily whatsafartsy, one must be in good shape. At my age, to go the extra ten yards, let alone a mile, I have to work at it. Fortunately, I have been going to physical therapy sessions and have been in the habit of doing a mild routine, including kegels, before I get out of bed in the morning. Often, I will slide across a room sideways, something that is in my routine at the gym. I think some of this has helped me stand for two hours doing the Occupy Cape Cod standouts. My back has been less painful in general.

So why do I tell you all this? Motivation? Yes, I would hope you take better care of yourself in 2012...but there is method to the madness. If I say these things, I am less likely to shame myself by not following through.

Next, declutter the house. Ten items a day! Put away, give away, throw away. The good news is that a very good friend has offered to take some of my stuff out to her place for a yard sale. Thank you, S A.

1/2/12: Diet? Hell, I don't even think about counting calories. With the kind of food I buy, I avoid sucrose, fructose, hydrogenated anything. The oils i use are those that are helpful, yes helpful to the arteries. About a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil during breakfast, a teaspoon or so of grapeseed oil for sauteing in the evening.

Recently, I have cut way down on fruit juices and white bread, pasta. These are easily converted into sugar and therefore contribute to hardening of the arteries. Foolish me, I had forgotten the link between diabetes and heart and blood pressure problems. I am not a diabetic, but will pay more attention to the "white" items.

It is up to you whether you wish to go organic, avoid the junk agra-business has thrown at us these many years, maybe spend less on iphones and more on good healthy food. Please educate yourself as to what is good for you and your family.

Happy and Healthy New Year.

12/20/11: Gone hat shopping, lately? Needed one to keep warm. Tried a dozen or so at Macy's, "One Size" was so tight, it would give you a headache. Again, the Oriental thing. Tried several other stores in two towns. Wound up at Marshall's. Same scene in the women's department. Those cute little caps were just that, little. When I put them on, they were so tight across, they made my ears stick out. I do not have a big head and my ears do not stick out, normally. It was off to the men's department, where I found the same problem. One gentleman said, "Yes, one size fits all...Chinese." i managed to find one of those Icelandic numbers, lined and colorful. It happened to have a sports logo, but I can cover that with one of my campaign buttons. It says, "We are the 99%".

I look at the big picture. How many of these mistakes by department stores will the public eat? I did not see these products being walked to the cash register. Somebody has to pay.

The day before, I was on my way to a birthday party and needed a bow to dress up a package. I found one at CVS. It was made of cheapy plastic swirled into loops, measuring about 3" across...one of those paste-ons. Price? $1.49. One dollar and forty-nine cents for something quickly thrown into the trash to pollute the environment.

Is this where I say Bah, Humbug?

12/16/11: What ever happened to...? Clothes that fit. They've even corrupted men's clothing. Try to find a pair of size 36 with a nice narrow leg. Hah. Most of what is on the racks hang below the waist. I wear men's pants, as I don't have curvy hips. Sometimes, you can find some nice material that hangs just right. Add a blouse or women's blazer... but the shortness of material is really annoying. They must save a lot of money by making clothing so uncomfortable. I am so surprised that adult men put up with this.

Today, I went for a warm coat. I tried the women's department but what they call "Missy" sizes only go up to about 16 if you're lucky. I tried a few XL that fit everywhere but the shoulders. It's like they were patterned after oriental women. Possible, as most everything is made you know where. One option was to buy a style with a raglan sleeve, but the lining was some soft fuzzy material which would not suit my left shoulder, the one with bone chips in it.

I had checked out the Lands End department and they had oodles of women's coats on sale. The quality seems to be slipping on these items, probably why so many are on sale. A few years past, that company catered to a slightly upscale clientele. I don't know where they're going now.

It was off to the men's department. Found a red coat with a little black trim that fits nicely and feels nice and warm. Ahhh. And they wonder why I get so tired shopping.

12/4/11:

Hey, thought of something one can do if there is no time for Occupy meetings or standing on street corners. The phone. If something bothers you about the nothing-accomplished syndrome afflicting most of the Washington reps., tell them about it. Keep a list of phone numbers by your land phone or put them on you cell.

Imagine. One call a day from everyone who is being taxed to pay the elected to do their jobs.

Personally, I like to get out there, even on cold days. The interaction is invigorating. Folks drive by and smile, throw you a thumbs up/and or blow their horns. Some people who walk the street come up and shake your hand or engage in positive conversation. Hardly any ask "What can we do?" It is already being done. If you care to join us, that's great. There is very little negativity shown us as we hold signs such as "Tax The Rich"or "Corporations Are Not People". The other day, two gentlemen in a pick-up truck handed us hot chocolate to keep warm. Nice.

When you realize that the people in Louisiana are the victims of the Army Corps of Engineers that is not run by the military and answers to no one, and the Federal Reserve is owned by the richest families in banking and not part of the government, you may feel the ordinary citizen has been snookered from way back.

Think about it. The iresponsible behavior of those paid by our taxes to represent us has risen to a new level. Pick up the phone, as they say in those annoying TV ads. Personally, I think the system holds those in government back. It takes a lot of guts to go against the status quo and big money. After all, it's nearly impossible to run for office without the backing of corporate money.

The only caution I wish to express is to be polite, even if this stuff gets your blood pressure up. It is volume that should do the trick. One call a day about anything that

they should be doing. If they come across, praise doesn't hurt either.

11/18/11:

Just to keep things simple, let me tell off the top of my head why I don't take every med. doctors prescribe. Omeprazole, the genetic form of Prilosec, for instance. When I read that it was processed with phthalates widely used to keep plastics flexible, I was curious. When I read the stuff can cause cancer, I said, No More. There are side effects to all drugs and one of the warnings on the label is to limit the use of the drug to so many weeks, I think, unless prescribed by a doctor. My house, like most modern houses, is polluted with phthalates and who knows what. The stuff leaches out from Vinyl flooring, shower curtains, pet and children's toys. Why do I want to take it internally?

One other drug that I was taking was over-the-counter low-dose aspirin. The particular product i was taking had an enteric coating to save stomach distress. Processing? Phthalates reared their ugly heads again. My cardiologist recommended I use acetylsalicylic acid without the coating. Come to find out that this drug removes coating from the stomach after it leaves the gastric organ. It had been prescribed because my blood work numbers go off the charts when I take cholesterol meds. I'd rather put apples with skins intact into my diet.

I have this annoying habit of trying to get at the facts. I called the pharmacists at the place where I get my 90 day supplies. I was trying to nail down what irritates my chronic bronchitis and/or possible asthma. I had a history of the latter when I was a child. The pharmacist told me that one med definitely would cause breathing problems. The cardiologist went of the wall and told me I was better off having a physician prescribe for me than a pharmacist.

I also had cut the Plavix in half and take it every other day. It is the carriers that have me uneasy. Another cardiologist clued me into problem. When I told him that I was having a problem sleeping because of the over-production of mucus and that my nose was running with clear thin fluid, he changed my blood pressure meds from what I had been taking for at least seven years. Why didn't the other doctors spot this? There has been decided improvement since the change. At least one prescription I have called about sent me down a blind alley, however. The pharmacist told me that the product was manufactured in China and he had no information what they use as a carrier.

Would that drive you crazy, or what?

I visited a pulmonary specialist to see if we could work on the breathing problem. He is a very nice young man who admitted that all there is is medication, that that is what physicians are taught. He gave me a med in pill form that contains the drug use in inhalers. Yes, after using it for a number of days, my breathing improved. Some side effects had me all hyped up to the point where I tried to date my beautician. I fazed out this prescription before finishing the pills and read the side effects more carefully. It suppresses the immune system. Hell, since I came out of the rehab, where the only blueberries I could get were in the yogurt every morning and they insisted on giving me fatty foods to pump me full of protein, I have been concentrating on an organic, antioxidant filled diet to keep away the cancer. Nuts.

Doctors do not try to find causes. For instance, what irritates my digestive system. Do I have too much or too little acid in my stomach? What food ingredients and environmental factors bring on coughing spells?

One has to be their own advocate and read labels on foods to avoid hydrogenated oils, for instance. It may help keep you healthier.

11/09/11:

So much has happened since I started this blog. Where do I begin? The effects of genetically engineered foods? Drugs prescribed? The failure and/or stubbornness of some doctors?

During a visit with my primary physician last year, he was seated at the computer, typing away. I assume he was recording notes for my records when I spoke to him. He jokingly said, "Don't interrupt me, I'm writing."

This is the fun guy who prescribed Omeprazole. Two other health care providers before him prescribed Prilosec before the genetic version of the drug came out. They started writing these scripts around 2002, to be taken daily. More about this later.

I was having increasing difficulty with irritable bowel syndrome. In late 2009 or early 2010, I asked to see a gastroenterologist and possibly have a colonoscopy. The doctor snapped. "You're not due to have a Cat Scan until 2011."

Aside from the fact that I thought he was having a bad hair day, I assumed wrongly that I had to live with my condition.

There were other issues with this physician, so months later, I decided to leave his service and asked for my records. I mentioned the request I had made for help with my IBS. He searched on the computer and said, "I don't se anything here."

My new primary sent me to a gastroenterologist and I had a colonoscopy, saw several other specialists and had more tests. In November of 2010, I had surgery for the excision of polyps, part of my lower bowel and a grapefruit-sized cancerous tumor.

What would a Cat Scan have done for me? Scans do not se into the gut, so how do they detect pre-cancerous polyps or worse? I saw an oncologist post-surgery and brought up the subject of having future colonoscopies. He informed me that they use Cat Scans to detect tumors. When I questioned this, he explained. "When a tumor breaks through the wall of the intestine, we can treat that." I could not believe the man. He seemed pumped up with pride as he spoke. This man must be hooked on chemo, I thought, Why would any doctor want to wait for stage three or four. Does the hospital make so much on scans?

Not incidentally, during the process of checking me out, I was not only X rayed because they saw something on my lung when I was first scanned, they ordered another scan after they reviewed the X rays. I had so much exposure, I can't even count it all. I was born with an ectopic bowel and multiple views were taken of this. After my recovery, I tried , but I can't find out how many plates were taken. I felt vulnerable at the time, so went along with everything. With all the specialists categorizing my body, I doubt if they knew which end was up. I personally saw to it that my primary was in the loop, supplying him with results from tests. Hardly any one else did. I had to give contact information to some technicians and doctors. In the Hyannis area, most physicians are under the umbrella of corporations. I was confused when I checked with my insurance to find the doctors re not all listed by name. Often, the names of organizations are similar, to add to the confusion.

Currently, I am refusing any more X ray exposure. One doctor, a pulmonary specialist, says the spots on the Xray mean nothing, another doctor wants to make sure they have not changed and wants me to have a Cat Scan.

It could drive you crazy.

Please see POV, which stands for my point of view. You may have your own. If you are happy with corporate dictatorship, I'm sure you will not agree.

Outdoor Shows

joankelsy — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:28:26 GMT

4/27/12: Talk about benign neglect. I have not forgotten art, though I have been hitting into the Occupy movement of late, as you can probably see when you open my blog most days. For several years before the movement came into being, I concentrated on writing. My first book is out now, but I don't have the energy to push my literary contribution. The only way I can see it as a bestseller is if I murder someone and get in the newspapers. It's a crazy world.

The reason I am telling you this is that I see that many of you have been checking out this post. Though I have been involved with several appearances at outdoor (and indoor) venues, where I have done fairly well as a newly published author, my art work is restricted to posters and signs. Some are shared with groups who are good enough to stand out on the streets and try to educate people.

Writing the book was fun. The cartoons I included helped scratch my creative itch. Now I still write little snippets, and buddy up with other writers at groups or mini courses. Next, I think I will sign up for a class in poetry. Not for it's own sake...it helps with the prose. Recently learned that scientists have discovered that written words about tactile, taste, olfactory senses, activity stimulate related cortical areas of the brain. Cool. Don't know where my instructor found this opinion piece. You can probably Google it to find Your Brain on Fiction by Annie Murphy Paul.

On many Summer Sundays on the Cape, you can visit outdoor art shows. I'm not talking flea market or those traveling truckloads of mass-produced-artwork extravaganzas.

    The folks who display fine original works put in a ton of effort.  I did it for a few years. It is a kick to sell something after hours at the easel, shopping for suitable frames, setting up on a lot and...waiting.  This is no way to make a living. Yet, profits can go toward quality brushes, pigments, canvases, etc.  Most of the artists are notorious course-takers. Sometimes, a sale pays for this skill sharpening.
    The best part is that while hanging out out there, there is a wonderful sense of belonging. Having moved to the Cape at the turn of the Century, I knew few people here.  While taking some courses at the Chatham
Creative Arts Center, I heard of theYarmouth Art Guild. I was a little apprehensive about joining, as I had run up against snoot here and there. "This element is everywhere, so just ignore it," I said to myself. I am so glad I did. The folks at the YAG are great. Really supportive.
    When I started showing my first summer, I had no rig. There were no second-hand metal ones available at the time.  They can be broken down to fit your car. Withstand the rain. Are quite expensive.   Sharon and I put our heads together and came up with a wooden A frame. (Sharon learned good carpentry skills from her father.)  We used 1x3" wood, which is actually 3/4x2 3/4" and was at the time lightweight enough for me to handle. We used plastic coated chicken wire, also not too heavy. Anchored it with a staple gun. Bought some small galvanised gate hinges.  Hung an exercise weight by a bungie cord to stabilize rig in the wind. The A frame is good, as you can position it so the wind blows through it. Placing a small American flag near one of the hinges helps show wind direction. I used some drapery hooks to fasten the paintings on the rig. Painted it with some left-over plum colored paint.  She was ready. My rig and I did a several years out there. SeeSpecs. You will see that I improved rig. The turkey wire was obtained from a local feed and farm supply company. It makes for a much nicer image for paintings (They hang straighter on squared off patern of fencing material.) The removable pins are a blessing. The two sides of the rig are heavier with the turkey wire, so you can carry to site one piece at a time.
    Sundays were O.K. For a while I did Mondays too with another group, "The Brewster Monday Painters". Some paintings that did not sell went into the "Sacrifice Sale" at the Creative Arts Center. They are currently holding these sales twice a year. I volunteered a time or two there. People line up at the door before opening time. It can get wild. Like the old Filene's Basement!

At present, I belong to four organizations. If I do not avail myself of member rates for courses, nor enter in shows for a while, I still like to hang in there with these good groups. Art is a blast.

11/17/07 :
This Thursday, I decided to pack up my paintings and bring a half-finished oil down to the local Senior Center. I wanted to see some of my "Art Friends", as Sharon used to say. It was good having their company. The biggest bonus in getting together down there is the instructor. She has a lifetime of knowledge behind her and is willing to share with us. Thanks, J. And thanks, Art Friends.

Below are some shots from the Taylor-Bray Farm Show. Each year, they have a wool-spinning exhibit and sale and feature domestic animals (you never know what you'll see, Llamas, for instance). There are always lambs, lambs, lambs, lots of chickens and one happy rooster!

Please use Print Preview and the arrows at bottom of screen to scroll. This way, you will see the full size photographs:

Last Spring, we were fortunate in that we could hang our Yarmouth Art Guild paintings in the big barn.
On the lower level to the left, barn swallows fly in and out through the open doors. In the background you can see a small portion of the tents that house spinning wheels and the barefoot women who show you how it's done. Bought a beautiful warm hat there last year.

2/20/08: Good News. The festival next year is scheduled for June First. We have been invited to participate. Check with the Yarmouth Art Guild when June is approaching. We should have more details by Springtime. Love those lambs.

You never know who will drop by the Taylor-Bray Farm.

Things That Drive You Crazy

POV: Political Perspective

5/24/12: A personal problem prevented me from attending the demonstration last Sunday, May 20th, at the Pilgrim Nuclear facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Fourteen gutsy people attempted to deliver a letter to Entergy and were arrested.

05/04/12: "We have met the enemy and he is us," Walt Kelly. The following is my taker on the quote. Little Feet in Socks.

To Whom It May Concern

Who Said That?

For Instance: Bitching Time

4/30/12: BPA dangers. I can't resist this one. This poison is one of my pet peeves.

Outdoor Shows

05/04/12: "We have met the enemy and he is us," Walt Kelly. The following is my taker on the quote.

Little Feet in Socks.